Industrial vacuuming loading systems are currently available which are used for vacuuming and removing coal, ash, dirt, dust, sand, stone, water, slurry and the like from work and industrial sites, as well as from equipment which tends to be covered with debris or residue during operation. The vacuum loader picks up and deposits the debris in a containment vessel. Typical uses for such vacuum systems are in cleaning conveying equipment, hopper rooms, silos, tanks, pulverizing mills, spills and oil slicks from wastewater treatment ponds, sump pump pits, boiler intervals during outages, bottom ash, blasting sand, slag and steel shot, roofing gravel and ballast stone.
A typical high power, high vacuum level vacuum system is mounted on a tandem and/or tri-axle trailer or skid, and includes a diesel or gasoline engine or electric motor, typically, which drives a positive displacement pump (Roots or equal) to create a vacuum. In a preferred embodiment, the pump is rated at 370 inches H.sub.2 O (27 inches Hg). A chamber type abortion silencer is attached to the blower discharge for sound suppression. In those industries in which such systems are used, a vacuum pressure in excess of 15 inches Hg and air flow capacity in excess of 900 CFM is deemed a high power, high level vacuum application.
A collection system or vessel is connected to the source of vacuum pressure, which collection system typically comprises two stages. The first stage is a relatively large diameter cyclone collector, which in one embodiment has a fifty-four inch diameter, a six-inch diameter tangential inlet, and a 7/8 cubic yard capacity conical storage area. Other sized collectors may be utilized, depending upon the applications. A baghouse for final filtration of particulate forms part of the collection module. A circumferential deflector plate is provided to protect the filters in the baghouse from particles entering the cyclone collector. Suitable means are also provided to allow dumping of collected debris from the collection vessel, such as solid state controls to automatically dump the collected material on a pre-selected timed cycle, with a short cycle for liquids and a longer cycle for dry materials.
In previous devices of the type generally described above, the filtration system used in the bag collector for high vacuum pressure applications consisted of multiple filter bags which require a fully packaged baghouse to achieve optimum collection results. By way of example, a typical prior filtration system for a high power, high level vacuum system would comprise approximately thirty-seven filter bags in a given diameter collector, providing 156 square feet of filter media, with 4.2 square feet of area per filter.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a filtration system for an industrial vacuum cleaning apparatus which produces greater efficiency of filtration of particulate matter while operating at higher vacuum pressures.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a filtration system for a vacuum cleaning apparatus which includes a cartridge construction wherein substantially more filter media can be placed within a limited space.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a filtration system for a vacuum cleaning apparatus, including means to avoid a high differential pressure situation across the filters.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a filtration system for a vacuum cleaning apparatus wherein the cyclone vessel's can velocity is maintained at a relatively low value, which reduces the burden on the filter media. Further, the construction of the filter media elements of the present invention allows substantial increases in air-to-cloth ratios while occupying limited space in the vessel compared to prior filter bags.